Metal wheel-spoke.



J. R. WELGH.

. METAL WHEEL SPOKE.

- APPLICATION FILED 1150.11 1906.

mama Sept. 22,1908x ATTQRNEK fom'rn, e rnn r on i JOHN R. WELC-H, or ALEXANDRIA, INDIANA ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE AMERICAN STEEL'WHEEL COMPANY, OF ALEXANDRIA, INDIANA, CORPORATION OF INDIANA.

' Application fil'ed December 17, 1906'. semi No. 348,102.

s okes thatare known as the built up type, t "e resent invention having reference parti'cu' arly toa S oke com rising a sheet metal main part an separate y formed end parts attached to the main part;

The object of the invention is to provide ametal' wheel spoke that may be made at the minimum cost andwhich will be ver strong and durable in use, further objects improve the construction of the several'parts of the spoke to the end that the spokes may beconveniently assembled and connected to the hubs and rims and may be adapted to be used with either metal or wooden rims.

-With the above-mentioried and other objects in view, the invention consists in a .30

metal wheel spoke comprising a main body partformedof rolled sheet metal and with a lockseam or joint, a novel form of tenon piece. attached to one end of the body part for connection with the wheel hub, and anovel form of tenon piece attached to the opposite end of thebody art for connection with the Wheel rim or fe y, and theinvention eonsistsfurther in the novel pants and combina tions and arrangements.ofiarts asfherein after articularly described nd claimed.

,Re eri'ing' to the drawings Figure 1. is a viewof a wheel in elevation having the im .proved s 'okes; Fig. 2, a longitudinal central sectiona view of an end {of the inn roved s oke in connection with the wheel folly; B igh), a longitudinal central sectional view of the o posite end part lot the improved spoke; Fig. 4, an end view showing the inner end of the tenon piece adapted to be connected to the felly; Fig. 5, an end view of the outer end of the tenon piece; Fig. 6, an end --view of the end pieceof the spoke that is adapted to be connected to the wheel hub; Fig.7, a transverse section'alview of the body part of the spoke; Fig. 8, aira'gmentary per- METAL vimnnsronn.

Specification of Letters Patent.

- Patented Sept 22, 1908..

of the complete spoke.

Similar reference characters in the various figures of the draumgs designate l1ke'ele-' ments or features of construction.

spective view of the joint lock of the body f. portion of the spoke; and, Fig. 9, a side view" In the drawi-ngsc designates the wheel 3 hubfb, the main or body part of the improved spoke, c a wheel felly or rim which is continuous and requires certain of the present improvements in order that the spokes may be expeditiously and advantageously assembled and connected to the telly or rim;

and, d designates the tire of the wheel.

In' the present invention the tenon piece that is designed to be connected to the hub is formed of two counter-part halves e and e; i

and the halves may be forging-s or as castings, and are held together by means of two rivets f and and may also be, brazed together if-desire contour of the complete end piece may be The external made either as drop variously shaped to besuitably assembled I with" other spokes in the hub. Each complete end piece has a tubular end 9 that has a circular exterior somewhat less in diameter than theadjacent parts of the end'piece with a shoulder h, and one side of the circular end has a groove '1, therein to receive the joint 'lock of the body part of the spoke, one end of the bodypartbeing' attached to the ex? terior of the "circular end abutting against the shoulder h. Theend piece and the body part may be secured together by various I means, preferably by being brazed. H The body part b of the s oke is composed of a strip of sheet metal r01 are brought together are turnedinwardly in the iorm of locking-hooks j and 3', extending frd n'i end to endof the body 7 ed up so as to tubular and the two edges of the strip that part. A .'oint lock it is formed of a strip of lnetalo the] same length as" the body itstwo longer edges turned over, one toward the other, to form grip hooks l and l, the whole length of the stri this being referably composed of rolle sheet meta, or. if desired, may be made as a casting, and the hooks l and Z are brought into engagement with tile hooks j andj forming astrong joint lock. In order to make the' most :perfect joint, the parts are brazed together as at m, and may be finished so that the joint would be invisible. the body part?) It should be understood. that and the joint lock 7c, inthispart b and having construction, maybe made of thicker metal than would be ossible'to use if the, joint were formed as eretofore as a lapseam, so that in the resent construction a stronger 5 body-part o the spoke may be made then @has' heretofore been practicable. The other .tenonpart for connection with the folly, comprises a seat part a from which extends y an vannular endsgpart 0 that is inserted in an 'endfof the body part b and base roove p in its exterior to receive the joint Iockpf the igbody art, and an annular'coll'ar "91 extends around the exterior of the body part 6, all

.' suitably secured together preferably byzln eans.of brazing.- The tenon part also comprises an integral tenon r adapted-to be forced into the sockets of the folly, the tenon having an and part 8 of reduced diameter,

' f adapted-to be inserted loosely into the sockets n 0" ii- I spokes may at first be laced obliquel to the axes of the sockets, an then permit t e hub,

,when assemblingthe spokes, so that the or part of it, to be connected to the hub ends i -0f"the==spokes whereby the spokes may be 5 forced simultaneously into their sockets in "\the rim. I V

The tenon piece .isl;cornpdsed of a single piece of metal, either as a fbrging' or as a cast- ,"mg' and preferably has a bore t extending therethroughlongitudinally so as to elimi- -na'te unnecessa iece being circu ar incross-section; At the un'ction-ofthe seat part n, and the tenon r, 1s a shoulder a in Whwh is an'annular groove '0 in which is inserted anannular packing 'w, that is designed to efiect; a tight joint between the s. oke-and-;the felly art against which thes oulder a is seated In some cases the telly or rim may have thimbles a: in 40 the spoke's'ockets. The periphery of the felly or rim may have ?a reinforcing band y. The packing w is desi ed to' prevent the ad zmisslon of water to ti tenon or the s oke, to revent rusting of the tenon, it eing nnd rst'ood that the parts of the periphery '{Of the folly will be brazed together so as to exclude Water from the inner end of the tenon.

From the fore oing description of con struction,, it will be apparent that the improved-spoke is so designed that all parts thereof may be made of any degree of strength that may be required in practice, and isparticularly adapted for use in congtenon part comprising a seat portion extendweight, the whole tenon nection with hollow metal rims, and like other spokes may be removed and replaced by others if occasion should require it.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In a metal wheel spoke, the combination with a hollow body part, of a tenon part comprising a seat portion extending into the bod part, and an annular inte ral collar'exten g about the exterior of t 1e bod art concentric to the ortion that exten s mto the body art, saidhenon part being secured to the ha y part.

. 2; In a metal wheel s oke, the combinationwith a hollow spo body part, of a ing into the body part and secured thereto,

:and a tenon portion having an end art that is less in diameter'than the base of t e tenon portion, said end art bein of uniform diameter and longer t an the ase of the tenon portion, said seat portion having an annular external shoulder be 0nd the end of said body part around the arger base part of said tenon portion. 3. In a metal wheel s oke, the combination with a hollow spol e body part, of a tenon part having a seat portion extending into the body part and secured thereto, an

annular external shoulder beyond the body part and having an annular groove therein and a tenon portion extending beyond sai shoulder, the greater'part of said tenon being less in diameter than the remaining part thereof, said smaller part being the end part of the touch portion of the tenon part. 4. In a metal wheel s oke, the crimbination with a hollow spoke ody part having a joint lock rotruding on the inner side thereof, of a to oniece comprising two-counterpart halv s an two rivets securing the halves togetherfsaid tenon-piece having a tubular end part ihat is less in diameter externally than the remaining part thereof and having an external groove receiving the joint lock, said end part extending into the spoke body 100 and secured thereto.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN R. watch.

Witnesses:

A. A. GALLMAN, J. T. BRONMEN. 

